


The Thistle

by AstridMyrna



Series: Reylo Rendezvous [5]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Flowers, Fluff, Gardening, Rey Took That Hand And Ran With It, The Last Jedi Trailer Inspiration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 15:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12368874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstridMyrna/pseuds/AstridMyrna
Summary: Kylo Ren and Rey are on the run, but Kylo Ren still finds time to pick flowers.





	The Thistle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the-reylo-void (Anysia)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anysia/gifts).



> OK so this started as a Tumblr head canon idea for the-reylo-void that I sent to them and basically I just NEEDED to write it out in full.
> 
> Head canon: Rey and Kylo Ren run off together at the end of Episode 8 and start a garden in the Millennium Falcon because Rey loves plants and Kylo Ren wants to make Rey happy.

Kylo Ren--no, Ben Solo--damn, he didn't even know anymore--stepped out of the thick foot traffic on the wide sidewalk and into a narrow alleyway to catch his breath. He leaned against the cold metal wall of the impossibly high skyscraper and tugged his coal-gray hood farther down his face and to the tip of his nose. A streak of sunlight from the main street warmed the tip of his black boot, but he drew his foot back into the shade. The light reached out to a large crack in the cement that stretched from one side of the alley to the other. A solitary flower somehow grew from within the gap.

_"We could go back to Jakku,"_ _he had asked Rey, still thunderstruck from the fact that they were both on the Millennium Falcon and running away from everything together._

_"There's nothing for me there. Well, there was a flower I had managed to keep alive when I was there, but I'm sure it's long dead now. Even if it wasn't, it's not worth the risk to fetch it."_

Kneeling next to the plant, Kylo touched the sullen, hunched head of the flower and several wisps of pale purple petals dripped off. Brown bruises of past trompings ran up its dark green and thorny stem. He closed his eyes and followed the stubborn energy of the flower from its bud to its roots that had split into dozens upon dozens of delicate fingers that needled deep into the dirt. He cupped his hands around the flower head, breathed, and encouraged the plant with a touch of the Force to release its grip on the earth. After carefully extracting it, he bundled up the bone-white roots and put the whole thing in his pocket but let the flower head hang out so it could still taste the sunlight as he rejoined the rumbling crowds again.

***

Rey had just finished the maintenance for the Quadex power core when Kylo returned from his trip in the city. They met in the lounge, where Kylo spread out the neon-colored cans of fruit juice, a five gallon jug of drinking water, and a half dozen dehydrated meal packs on the hologram board. It would have to do for now, because she had no idea how long they'd risk staying on this planet. She smiled up at Kylo from the dingy lounge seats in the cramped equipment storage area turned living space.

"Thank you for going today. I'll go tomorrow," she said, and noticed something purple in his pocket. "What is that?"

He held up a barely-living flower, dry dirt crumbling between his gloved fingers. "I found it in an alley, and it reminded me about the flower you had in Jakku. It's not the same, but I thought you might like it."

She lifted the flower bud with a knuckle, but three out of the remaining five petals fell off. She could feel the thread of energy Kylo had been feeding it to keep the flower alive. His whole face sagged at the poor sight of the flower, but his eyes shone with renewed light when she gently took it out of his hand and cradled the flower in hers.

"How about you find something to put this in? Some new dirt and a little water, and I'm sure we'll nurse it back to health again."

He gave her a hint of a smile before heading off to scavenge something that the flower could be kept in, leaving Rey alone with her thoughts. It surprised her that he even remembered that one-off conversation in the cockpit after they had escaped everything together. Rey had made Kylo promise to return and fight again the First Order once they both figured out how to be...well, they couldn't be Jedi. She didn't know what they would become in the end. Never before had the future been so uncertain.

He returned to her with a bowl of dirt and a cup of water. Together they planted the flower in the bowl, tucked dirt around the base of the stem, and watered the dirt until it was almost mud.

"Do you think it'll get used to artificial light?" Rey asked.

"It'll have to if it wants to survive," he said, pressing the soggy dirt down with bare fingers. "But it's proven to be a survivor, so it should be okay."

As he withdrew his hands, a thorn nicked the meat of his thumb. Rey caught his hand before he could hide it in his glove again and turned it so she could see it better under the stark white ceiling light.

"Can I practice healing this?" she murmured, barely hearing her voice over the deafening pulse in her ears.

"Yes, of course," he said, the quickening pulse in his wrist, the reddening tips of his ears, his entire face turned towards her and showing her how dearly he wanted this.

She ghosted her finger tips over his wound and focused on the skin knitting itself whole again. She was still uncertain of the future, but in this present moment she felt a little more hopeful about her decision to leave.

Over the course of their adventures, the flower (which turned out to be a thistle) lost the last of its petals, but a new bloom sprouted from the side of it and grew up towards the light with a fresh head of purple petals. The thistle would not stand alone for long. Soon it was surrounded by other wiry wildflowers with black eyes and wide periwinkle petals or yellow-green spiral bunches that hung over the pot. They even brought a green spinebarrel from Jakku, similar to the one that Rey had in her former home of the decimated AT-AT. The garden overtook the hologram board, fenced in with a net of wire to keep them from flying off the table in hyper speed jumps. One day Rey and Ben (as he preferred to be called now) would plant the garden once they found a permanent home to settle in.

For right now, home was being together with their garden.


End file.
